


Came in From The Outside

by SleepingReader



Series: The Terry Pratchett Challenge - 31 days, 400 words a day - [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Spooky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 09:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19438300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepingReader/pseuds/SleepingReader
Summary: Day 2 of the Terry Pratchett Writing Challenge:Came in from the Outside





	Came in From The Outside

They had always been inside. Underneath beds, in the dark corner of the cellar, where you were sure they crawled. They had creaked up stairs, just an inch behind you, their cold breath on your neck, before you bolted to your room. You jumped on the bed from a distance, afeared of the sharp claws beneath.   
And then logic and doubt crept into your mind.   
Was it the wind that ruffled the curtain? Or was it the little red cap of your neighbours garden gnome, the one that always looked like he wanted you to get into the deep pond?  
Was it your heartbeat in your ears as you hid under the blankets, or was it the boy with the upside-down head, reeking of warm milk, crawling through your door onto your ceiling?

You made little rules for yourself. Rules to keep you safe.  
‘Get into the bathtub only when the water stops running, before the spiders come through the tap.’   
‘Always have a light on when you want to step out of your bed.’  
‘Don’t look up in the dark hallway’  
’Don’t step on the cracks in the pavement.’  
‘They can’t harm you under the blankets’  
‘Teddy will keep you safe.’

Little lies, little ways to make living bearable in a world of monsters.   
They say that if you grow up, you grow out of your fears, of your little lies.   
But you never did. Did you?  
You still clutch your blanket and your teddy and your little flashlight. Praying someone would come and hold your hand. A bright sword in the darkness.   
‘Dad, please go into the cellar for me…’

Because they were never inside your head.   
They came in, from the outside.   
They have their ways. Their little passages.   
The space between escalators. The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it second all of the streetlights turn off. The way the 12 o’clock bell always seems to have one extra toll. The empty seat beside you as you drive through the darkness. The crack in the pavement you jump over. The corner of the cellar where even mice don’t go. The spider in the corner of the shower, after you’ve just turned the water on.   
The footsteps of a stranger, following you at night. The desperate glance in the shop windows, but you see no one. But you hear them.   
And they’re catching up. 

They came in from the outside.  
I should know. I’ve let them in.  
Don’t let your feet slip out of the blankets tonight…

**Author's Note:**

> Nnnnot that happy about this one. Might do one extra.


End file.
